I checked out that link Joanne, and it looks fun! But what's Persian about it (other than the music?) Looks like standard Zumba to me. I'm not seeing bellydance in it -- but there really isn't any real bellydance in Zumba anyway, no matter how they try to market it that way.

Seems to me like you do any standard Zumba or floor aerobics steps to whatever music you like -- Persian, Bhangra, Bellydance, etc. Maybe you could make your own routines?

I used to do step aerobics to Said Mrad's remixes while practicing my cymbals. Burned calories, gave me cymbal practice, and had fun all at the same time! I would make a video if he would give me the rights to the music. Too fun!!!

Despite some negative comments on Dolphina's series, I really love her videos. I think Intro to Bellydance is good for the brand-new bellydancer. The way she breaks down the movements makes them very easy to pick up and although I'm not a brand-new-newbie, I've found her approach is great for my almost-a-newbie lack of experience and technique. I also really love her Cardo workout as it's well-organized into a good cardio workout while still being 100% bellydance. And again, I love the way she breaks the movements down. I guess some folks might be put off by the whole Goddess thing, but I love her positive attitude and how it helps me to feel good about the body I have right now.

CJ - "The difference between who I am and who I want to be is separated only by my actions and words." - source unknown

Hi Im Dana *Aka* Crim69* i just joined this group i really like it and ty for allowing me to join.But i must say this section is quite confusing.( HELP) Im newbie never did this before altho i have wanted to for a very long time .So whats the best Dvd or download for beginners ? Ty Dana

Patience and Persistence Are The Keys To Success.. Even in Small Doses.. We shall Overcome ...Live... Laugh..Love ..Like its your last ..Life is too short ..

I do have the shimmy workout and I love it. I no long do the choo choo section because it REALLy cramps up my calves big time. but everything else is pretty fun. and it does help with stamina ALTHOUGH, i only do 10 min shimmy drillz at a time.

I just got "Bellydance Shimmy Workout" with Sarah Skinner. It says it is for beginners but I think most would get frustrated before they learned all the shimmies. There is a tutorial section where all the shimmies are broken down and it is good but short. I do love it and it is a good moderate cardio workout (though the choo-choo section got my heart rate WAY up there). I would recommend it if you want to work on your shimmy stamina.

I love heartbeat of belly dance. I just bought jennas basics and beyond and next step. I'm also getting the art of the drum solo. I have instruction with jillina vol 1 and so far, its good. I also have ranya renees beledi set, not for total beginner at all, but for expanding skillz. very good. I have suzanna del vecchios precision movement or something like that. NOT for beginner. more for a very intermediate level.

another thought - would neena and veena be good for a total beginner whos not sure if shes would like to learn?

Contemporary Belly Dance and Yoga Conditioning with Ariellah - This is one of my faves I find I take away a lot from it even if I struggle to keep up.

Tribal Fusion Bellydance with Sharon Kihara - This was my first BD DVD and I am madly in love Sharon! As a beginner with no experience I did find it easy to follow if a challenge to keep up with.

Tribal Fusion Bellydance with Rachel Brice and also Bellydance Arms and Posture with Rachel Brice - I find Rachel a tad intimidating, but having said that I am counting down the days till her new DVD is released from World Dance New York.

In my pursuit of all things Tribal Fusion early on I tried the first East Coast Tribal title and Tribal Fusion NYC both from WDNY. Also at that time I got Tribal Drum Solo Choreography with Zoe Jakes and Issam Houshan from BDSS, interestingly this was my first real exposure to any drum solo think I need to learn more about this to make any real judgment.

Newest additions are Modern Tribal Bellydance with Asharah - having heard so many good things about her DVD I thought I should check it out. And the other is Tribal Fusion Fundamentals with Kami Liddle, Moira, Samantha and Sherri from BDSS.

IMO I feel like the titles from WDNY feel like they pack more content in than the ones from the BDSS. Just my initial feel.

My other thoughts reading through this thread, I might look into some ATS since I just jumped straight into tribal fusion with no bd exp what so ever. And I was pleased to see a review of Tempest's DVD Bellydance for the Beautiful Freaks, this has been on my want list forever but I was always a little apprehensive about it since it appeared to be kind of focused on interpreting bd for a club dance floor.

Heartbeat of Bellydance was one of my favorite first DVDs. It has shimmy practices and three exciting drum solos, the first two of which are easy to learn...I performed 1 and 3 as my first public drum solos. :P

Hi Everyone, I loved reading this thread! Can you recommend a workout Belly Dance DVD for a beginner? I have recently started doing and loving Hemalayaa's Bollywood Dance Workout and Bollywood Booty Workout.

I love the style of Sharon Kihara,but it looks like her videos are not too instructive. I got DVD one of the "Twins", and I hated their style.

I own the video from Jenna. It is good for beginners and for practicing isolations. I also like the fact that Jenna demonstrates the moves in mirror image. I also have Rania's workout videos, they are not in depth instruction but you can work up a sweat by doing them a couple of times in a row.

It depends on the focus of your style of dance. I love Fat chance Belly Dance for ATS and Gypsy Caravan for ITS (since it's not FAT Chance, it has to be called ITS). I really enjoy Ashara's video. She's actually going to be doing a workshop at Triboriginal in North Carolina next October. When I first started dancing, I began with Suhaila videos. All of her videos are pretty solid in technique and for fitness. I really like Rachel Brice's two vids-I can't think of the first one, but the second is for arms. Tribal Fundamentals has Kami Liddle, which I adore. This dvd has a great zill practice. :) I've only been dancing for 6 years, according Suhaila Salimpour, anyone under 10 years is baby dancer........So, I'm still learning, but I have to say I really didn't care for Dolphina. Tribe.net is a great resource belly dancers or for people that are interested in all styles of belly dance.

Nat, the Aziza video that I described is NOT for beginners but I would look into her other videos to see if you can find one she has done for beginners, as I really liked her style of teaching. Good luck!

What do you all think of Sadie's Complete Bellydance Guide? It sounds like a wonderful drilling DVD. Since I will be unable to attend classes in the new year, I am looking for something that will help me keep my skills honed. I have Ariellah's Contemporary Bellydance and Yoga Conditioning and also Michelle Joyce's Drills, Drills, Drills, but Sadie's seems so much more in depth. Do you think it would be a good buy?

"If you are afraid of defeat, then get stronger" --Kuchiki Rukia, Bleach Ep. 117

I reviewed Aziza's Ultimate Workout Companion (thank you Netflix) and it looks great! Thanks for the recommendation!! That shimmy workout is gonna kick my butt - even Aziza was sweatin'. I am looking forward to using the DVD during the cold Colorado winter - no more excuses for me!

I see some tribal style videos listed here - anything in particular that teaches tribal technique? I love the flow-y ness of Tribal and my teacher does not do that (and the local Tribal teacher moved out of state - POUT). I'd like to work on the techniques on my own.

Angekia, I am a tribal/gothic girl as well. I just placed Sashi's DVD on my Amazon wishlist, and plan to get it after my checks clear this upcoming week. I love Asharah's DVD as well, I feel like I improved immensely after I really started working with it.

Been a long time here... =) I fell off the face of the earth for a while...

I got Sashi's new DvD Dark Fusion Belly Dance The Ascend Tribal Dance Format. and her WARM UP is a workout! she breaks down moves completely and goes through so many different things. The dvd is put together like you are in class with her and I LOVE IT. I also love the Luscious and Love potion dvd's as well as the Shakra workout one. Apparently there is going to be a third workout video in the luscious and love potion series... Hard Candy. They are right now filming it.

I love Ariella's dvd as well. Anything with alternate drills and movements make me happy =) I'm such a tribal and gothic girl =) yes, I love ATS, ITS, Fusion and Gothic dance!

I picked up "Contemporary Belly Dance and Yoga Conditioning with Ariellah", and I think it's pretty much what I was looking for and will keep me busy for a while as a complement to my Intermediate class. I wouldn't recommend it for someone trying to learn from step 1 with a video, but I think it's great for really building up the muscle control for a lot of movements.

My only complaints are that you can't go directly to a particular move that you want to practice, and there's a couple spots where there's lights that are mildly annoying. The 75 minute drill section is divided into 6 parts - you can jump to the part (e.g. hips), but you can't jump to a move within the part. There's about 3 or so distinct moves within each of those parts, so you spend a lot of time on each move to build up strength (I need to take breaks). I haven't really gotten to working on the combinations or the 2nd section of drills yet, probably next time I'll start with Drills 2. At first I thought there were two different choreographies to learn but it's one set to two different pieces of music.

The set is pretty simple and it feels like they probably did it with fairly limited takes - there's a couple spots where you catch her going "um" or sort of reconsidering what she wants to say. I don't think that's a bad thing - it's more like if you were actually taking a class with her or something, just seems worth mentioning.

I've lost about 35lbs and gone from slightly over "obese" by BMI to just into "healthy"!

And I can now run for over 5k!

#1 rule about losing weight: It's about making progress, not being perfect

I wasn't crazy about the format of Jenna's "Next Level" -- she introduces a movement or movement combo and then doesn't really give you time to practice it.

For a next step, try any of the Bellydance Workouts from Neon -- Luscious, Love Potion, or Bellydance Rhythms Workout, which is FABULOUS! They aren't "workouts" per se, but more like extended practice sessions.

I'm currently practicing along with Jenna's Basics and beyond,which really got me hooked to belly dance.Any recommendations what to try after mastering those moves?I've hears that her The next level DVD is kinda too advanced.

Ariellah's works good for all levels, and you get a lot of bang for your buck! She breaks things down in a way that you can understand...but relize that you will most likly not be able to get thru the whole thing..at least not right away..she works you big time...

I havn't seen the Petite Jamilla??? But I am sure someone here has.

Edited by: ILANAP at: 10/28/2008 (12:45)

Heart beat as one To the rhythm of the drum Heart and soul may we come Together Fearless and spirited Shameless and beautiful With purpose and inner strength Dance until you live again

I've got the double veil one, but I'd have to watch it again to tell you if it was any good. It's been a while, and I don't remember.

As for the Ariellah - absolutely, positively YES. It's great for any level or style just based on the fact that you're given much better instruction as to which muscle groups are involved in what you're doing. Ashara's DVD is also good in that vein.

Hi! I am very beginner, and so far I'm enjoying Bellydance Basics and Beyond with Jenna. Has anyone tried Petite Jamilla: Unveiled - Double Veil Instructional DVD? I'm thinking of ordering this one. And are there any good beginner drilling DVDs? I'm thinking of getting Ariellah's Bellydance and Yoga Conditioning, but I don't know if that's beginner or if a beginner can use it. Thanks.

"If you are afraid of defeat, then get stronger" --Kuchiki Rukia, Bleach Ep. 117

Its been a long time since I have posted something on here....Things kinda got busy around my house and I stopped working on losing weight but this time I am doing it! I have a great dvd recommedation for ya'll! Its called "Luscious - The Bellydance Workout for Beginners". It is a great workout dvd by Blanca, Neon, and Sarah Skinner! I love it! Its super fun!

"When life hands you lemons, make grape juice, then sit back and watch the world wonder how you did it. "

"Love can be found even in the most darkest of places"

“Being defeated is often temporary, giving up makes it permanent.”-Marilyn von Savant

"Dear Weight, I am tired of playing the up and down game with you. I demand you go down so I can be sexy again! With All My Hate/Love, Brittany"

"At the end of the day, when the tale has been told and your reckoning i

SparkPeople, SparkCoach, SparkPages, SparkPoints, SparkDiet, SparkAmerica, SparkRecipes, DailySpark, and other marks are trademarks of SparkPeople, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
SPARKPEOPLE is a registered trademark of SparkPeople, Inc. in the United States, European Union, Canada, and Australia. All rights reserved.

NOTE: Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy last updated on October 25, 2013